Aerobic Exercise Ameliorates Cancer Cachexia-Induced Muscle Wasting through Adiponectin Signaling

Cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by muscle loss that cannot be reversed by conventional nutritional support. To uncover the molecular basis underlying the onset of cancer cachectic muscle wasting and establish an effective intervention against muscle loss, we used a cancer cachectic mouse model and examined the effects of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise successfully suppressed muscle atrophy and activated adiponectin signaling. Next, a cellular model for cancer cachectic muscle atrophy using C2C12 myotubes was prepared by treating myotubes with a conditioned medium from a culture of colon-26 cancer cells. Treatment of the atrophic myotubes with recombinant adiponectin was protective against the thinning of cells through the increased production of p-mTOR and suppression of LC3-II. Altogether, these findings suggest that the activation of adiponectin signaling could be part of the molecular mechanisms by which aerobic exercise ameliorates cancer cachexia-induced muscle wasting.     

Fabrication of octacalcium phosphate block through a dissolution-precipitation reaction using a calcium sulphate hemihydrate block as a precursor

Although octacalcium phosphate (OCP) powder and a collagen/gelatin composite demonstrate good potential as bone substitutes, an OCP block has not been fabricated to date. In this study, the feasibility of fabricating an OCP block was evaluated through a dissolution-precipitation reaction using a calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CSH) block as a precursor. When the block was immersed in a phosphate salt solution, its composition changed to that of OCP, while its structure was maintained. The diametral tensile strength (DTS) of the OCP block was 1.0?±?0.2?MPa. The macroporosity and microporosity of the OCP block were 33.4?±?4.5% and, 69.0?±?1.6%, respectively. New bone attached well to the OCP block, and this block was partially replaced by bone 2 weeks after implantation. Four weeks after implantation, the surface of the OCP block was nearly covered with new bone and ~30% of the block was replaced by new bone, while no replacement by bone was observed in the case of a hydroxyapatite (HAp) block used as a control. It is concluded that OCP blocks are potentially suitable for their use as artificial bone substitutes.     

Automated single nucleotide polymorphism typing using bead array in capillary tube

A low-cost and simple on-site technique for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was developed. The technique is based on allele-specific primer PCR and the recently developed bead arrays in a single tip technique. The performance of the method was verified by genotyping four SNPs that correlate with cardiovascular diseases.     

Why we talk?: altruism and multilevel selection in the origin of language

Talking entails costs of production and time, although some of the information sent to hearers will be of value to them in general. We believe that the matter of why we talk at all is a key question for the origin of language, and the answer will shed some light on the mystery of human identity. This article focuses on altruism in communication, and aims to demonstrate evolutionary scenarios based on multilevel selection. We constructed a computational model to examine these scenarios. The evolutionary experiments showed that in the case of an unstructured population, a linguistic system hardly emerged due to the dynamics between interpretable utterance that imposes a penalty and correct interpretation that yields a reward, which is similar to prey-predator dynamics. However, in the case of a multigroup population, a linguistic system emerged owing to multilevel selection among the groups. In addition, the probability of success in conversation was higher in a group in more severe environmental conditions. This result supports Bickerton’s hypothesis based on the ecological gap between human ancestors and other ape species.     

Simultaneous design of the sensory morphology and controller of mobile robots

This paper proposes a method for automatic design of the sensory morphology of a mobile robot. The proposed method employs two types of adaptations, ontogenetic and phylogenetic, to optimize the sensory morphology of the robot. In ontogenetic adaptation, reinforcement learning searches for the optimal policy, which is highly dependent on the sensory morphology. In phylogenetic adaptation, a genetic algorithm is used to select morphologies with which the robot can learn tasks faster. Our proposed method was applied to the design of the sensory morphology of a line‐following robot. We performed simulation experiments to compare the design solution with a hand‐coded robot. The results of the experiments revealed that our robot outperformed the hand‐coded robot in terms of the following accuracy and learning speed, although our robot had fewer sensors than the hand‐coded one. We also built a physical robot using the design solution. The experimental results revealed that this physical robot used its morphology effectively and outperformed the hand‐coded robot. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 172(1): 48–57, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20965     

Formulation of normalized site attenuation in terms of antennaimpedances [EMI measurement applications]

General formulas for normalized site attenuation (NSA) are derived in terms of antenna impedances by using the two-port circuit theory to show the effects of mutual coupling. The investigations focus on the antenna factors and antenna calibration procedures that are appropriate for NSA, and the validity of the NSA concept is discussed on the basis of these theoretical investigations. The NSA measurements are found to be appropriate for site validation when using broadband antennas having constant antenna factors. It is theoretically concluded, however, that the original concept of the NSA may not be applicable to the use of tuned dipole antennas, even after adopting the correction factors specified in the existing ANSI standard. NSA is shown to require different correction factors if the antennas have changeable antenna factors     

Photoelectrochemistry of Culn11S17

Polycrystalline samples of Culn₁₁S₁₇ have been prepared by the homogeneous precipitation technique. The electron probe microanalyses (EPMA) have shown the presence of excess sulphur with as-precipitated samples, which has been considerably reduced by subsequent annealing. From the reflectance measurements, the band gap has been determined to be 1.45eV. The photoelectrochemical behaviour of n-Culn₁₁S₁₇ has been studied in different redox electrolytes, namely, polysulphide, polyiodide, and ferro/ferricyanide, and the best photoresponse was observed with the polysulphide redox system. Photoetching in a poly-sulphide electrolyte at a strong anodic bias highly improves the photoresponse of this material. It has also been shown that our n-Culn₁₁S₁₇ photoanode in electrochemical photovoltaic cell has a good stability at working conditions in a polysulphide solution. Finally, the future perspectives of the material have been briefly discussed.     

The effects of infusion of trieicosapentaenoyl-glycerol emulsion on extravascular lung water during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion in dogs

To test the effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) infusion on pulmonary edema induced by coronary ligation and reperfusion, extravascular lung water (EVLW) was measured in situ by the thermal-dye double indicator dilution method in dogs. In the control group of five dogs, 30 mL of a 10% soybean oil emulsion was infused through a leg vein. One hour after infusion, the left anterior descending coronary artery below the first diagonal branch was ligated for 15 min and then reperfused for 30 min. In the EPA group, six dogs were similarly treated with an emulsion of a 10% trieicosapentaenoyl-glycerol (90% pure). EVLW, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, mean pulmonary artery pressure, mean blood pressure, and cardiac index were measured before and 15 min after coronary ligation, and 15 min and 30 min after coronary reperfusion. There were no significant differences in the hemodynamic indices between the two groups. EVLW significantly increased up to two times of baseline during coronary ligation in the control group (P< 0.05) and more during reperfusion (P<0.01), whereas EVLW did not increase in the EPA group. In conclusion, EPA inhibited EVLW accumulation and may be useful for ameliorating one of the ischemia-reperfusion-induced complications, pulmonary edema.